2021 NHL Entry Draft

[nergish]

Lysell could be a Hoglander-type steal in this draft. But I think we gotta aim higher with 9th OA.?

 

Wallstedt is not a reach at 9. 
 

Not a specific team need, but not a reach.

Edited June 21, 2021 by nergish

[JustABandwagoner]

2 minutes ago, nergish said:

Wallstedt is not a reach at 9. 
 

Not a specific team need, but not a reach.

He might be BPA at 9 tbh. Screw need. We messed up going for NEED in 2016

[nergish]

9 minutes ago, DontMessMe said:

He might be BPA at 9 tbh. Screw need. We messed up going for NEED in 2016

I love the kid. 

But I genuinely believe in Thatcher Demko as a goalie, and his career is just beginning. 
The timing of drafting Wallstedt now isn’t quite perfect. He’s playing in the SHL, and honestly isn’t that far away (see Spencer Knight). 
 

I just don’t think we can take Demmer out the crease, even 3+ years from now. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. Walkstedt is a phenom. We’re talking potentially a Pettersson of goaltending. But Demko has insane upside himself. Did you know his longterm gf is a goalie? The guy is dedicated - he’s here to stay.

Edited June 21, 2021 by nergish

[JustABandwagoner]

2 minutes ago, nergish said:

I love the kid. 

But I genuinely believe in Thatcher Demko as a goalie, and his career is just beginning. 
The timing of drafting Wallstedt now isn’t quite perfect. He’s playing in the SHL, and honestly isn’t that far away (see Spencer Knight). 
 

I just don’t think we can take Demmer out the crease, even 3+ years from now. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. Walkstedt is a phenom. We’re talking potentially a Pettersson of goaltending. But Demko has insane upside himself. Did you know his longterm gf is a goalie? The guy is here to stay.

I think Wallestedt is prob 3 years away from full time starter. 

1 more year in SHL 

1 year in AHL to season 

1 year as NHL backup 

NHL starter 

 

By then Demko would be in his 4th year of his contract. As for Dipietro, well hes prob gone 

[nergish]

23 minutes ago, DontMessMe said:

I think Wallestedt is prob 3 years away from full time starter. 

1 more year in SHL 

1 year in AHL to season 

1 year as NHL backup 

NHL starter 

 

By then Demko would be in his 4th year of his contract. As for Dipietro, well hes prob gone 

Yeah. Ultimately I’m okay with it.

But I think I’d rather have McTavish. Or Reinhart...

[Dazzle]

Wallstedt can be an amazing starter/backup for Demko. This can be an awesome pick because we'll be set for goalies, and we won't have to worry about spending any additional money in that department.

I'm FOR Wallstedt if he's BPA.

[hammertime]

I have gone over this draft several times and the conclusion I keep coming back to is....... Players taken before us in no particular order. McTavish, Guenther, Eklund, Power, Beniers, Clarke, Hughes, Wallstedt.

 

The guys in our spot. 

Edvinsson, Lysell, Johnson, Sillinger, Svechkov. 

 

Then I ask myself would I be happier with 1 of those guys or..

 

One of: Heimosalmi, Ceulemans, Koivunen, Tuomaala, Raty, Chibrikov, Cossa, Lambos. 

 

And one of:  

Jack Bar, Roman Schmidt, Samu Salminen, Jake Martin, Pastujov, Samoskovich, Lazutin.

 

and I find the latter more attractive. 

 

[ilduce39]

With a lot of cap room opening up next summer we don’t know what our needs will be in 2 years, which is about when our pick will hopefully be ready for a taste in the NHL. Really, our pool is pretty bare for blue chippers so I can’t see us going for positional need.
 

Playoffs show time and again how important goaltending is… if BPA is a goalie I think it’s an easy choice. 

[Warhippy]

maybe an unpopular opinion 

 

Sebastian Cossa will be a better tender than Wallstedt.

[HighOnHockey]

3 hours ago, Sp3nny said:

Lysell has one of, if not the, best motor in the draft. I'd personally say it's just down to stats. Eklund put up very good numbers as a draft eligible in the SHL. Lysell's numbers are quite average to disappointing.

For fans, sure, stats are a big part of it. But this doesn't explain why Goran Stubb and NHLCS has Lysell way out in a corn field somewhere. I mean, as I always say, Central Scouting is what it is: not the best scouts in the world, but still a cut above most of the media scouting services, and the closest thing to a representation of what NHL teams are looking for, as their stated intent is to support NHL teams. That European group is notorious for snubbing small players, but yet they have Eklund number one.

 

I've talked at length about my worries with Lysell, but I do think his upside is among the highest in the draft. There just isn't the same risk factor with Eklund. Lysell has yet to show he can be consistently effective at the pro level at his size - Eklund has spelled it out in all caps. It's not like he's just fitting in at the SHL level, he is already a play driver and a difference maker. On top of his talent level, his hockey IQ is through the roof. Of course people are factoring his size - it is the only reason he's not the obvious and overwhelming first overall pick.

[hammertime]

44 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

maybe an unpopular opinion 

 

Sebastian Cossa will be a better tender than Wallstedt.

It's certainly floating around. 

In a normal year where we don't have a Wallstedt level tendy. The Cossa hype would be enormous. A lot can happen along the way depending on how they are developed. 

[Warhippy]

28 minutes ago, hammertime said:

It's certainly floating around. 

In a normal year where we don't have a Wallstedt level tendy. The Cossa hype would be enormous. A lot can happen along the way depending on how they are developed. 

I just cannot discount Cossa size and athleticism plus his playing in the whl this year. 

 

I get the hype behind wallstedt but this kid...man he is absolutely something else

[HighOnHockey]

Since I really don't have that many viewings on Eklund, and there's not much available from this season, I decided to go way back to 2019 Hlinkas, where YouTube has the famous game in which Cole Perfetti forgot how to stop scoring goals. The thing with Eklund is, whereas with most young players, you'll see them in junior, and then you'll see them in pro, and they look very different; with some it is almost like watching a whole different player. Eklund plays pretty much exactly the same in junior and in pro. He just does his thing, i.e. utterly dominate.

 

Here's a great example of what I mean about what a pro game he plays. I included him carrying the puck up ice, cus holy sweet mother. But what intrigues me is once he's in the offensive zone. I'm always critical of kids like e.g. Lysell and Coronato for trying to attack one on three or four. Eklund puts a bit of a new twist on it here, drawing in five opponents, but then kicking it out.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by HighOnHockey

[J.I.A.H.N]

In discussion with @HighOnHockey, he stated that in the first couple of rounds it is always BPA, which I agree with, in my own warped way.

 

But I see draft rankings as fluid, not so rigid lists. For example, I see the top 32 players, as a list like this

 

1. Power and Benier

2. Hughes, Guenther, Clarke

3. Edvinsson, Eklund, Johnson

4. McTavish, Wallstedt

5. Sillinger, Lucius, Lysell

6. Chibrikov, Ceulemans, Lambos, Cossa

7. Othmann, Bourgault, Coronato, Ollasson, Pastujov, Svechov, Bolduc, Pinelli, L'Heureux

8. Rosen, Chayka, Robertson, Tuomaala, Raty, Morrow

 

Now, I see this as, you can draft from above your ranking, if someone is left, or from your position in the draft, if nothing else is available, but all the names in one group are ranked very close, so it is not wrong to take someone else in your grouping, because of course, you believe they are in the appropriate line.

 

Of course, each NHL team will have different groupings, but will probably be closer in large groupings like this than individual rankings. So, yes, if you are on line 4 and everyone above you is taken and you need a goalie, you take Wallstedt.....if you need a center, you take McTavish, you may even take someone from the group directly below you if you really like a guy, but usually, they will be in a appropriate grouping.

 

It should be noted, that you can have a grouping of 1, at anytime within your rankings...aka If a McDavid type player is in it, or group 4 only has one name in that line. But the point is,  it is somewhat broad.

 

PS....you may disagree with my rankings or my lines, but I am only 1 GM, of 32, so each list is individual, of course!

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by janisahockeynut

[Sp3nny]

2 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

For fans, sure, stats are a big part of it. But this doesn't explain why Goran Stubb and NHLCS has Lysell way out in a corn field somewhere. I mean, as I always say, Central Scouting is what it is: not the best scouts in the world, but still a cut above most of the media scouting services, and the closest thing to a representation of what NHL teams are looking for, as their stated intent is to support NHL teams. That European group is notorious for snubbing small players, but yet they have Eklund number one.

 

I've talked at length about my worries with Lysell, but I do think his upside is among the highest in the draft. There just isn't the same risk factor with Eklund. Lysell has yet to show he can be consistently effective at the pro level at his size - Eklund has spelled it out in all caps. It's not like he's just fitting in at the SHL level, he is already a play driver and a difference maker. On top of his talent level, his hockey IQ is through the roof. Of course people are factoring his size - it is the only reason he's not the obvious and overwhelming first overall pick.

I guess what I said was very basic, but at the heart of it, I meant what you said in your second paragraph. Yes they are the same size, but if Eklund is doing extremely well at that size, you aren't going to list his size as a problem, as he demonstrates that it doesn't hold him back. If Lysell is struggling at his size, and you can't pin it on his skills or his motor/compete, what are you left with to explain his struggle? The glaringly obvious and easy thing to pin it on is his size, which I personally don't agree with, as he doesn't exactly play small. Yes, he has his struggles getting muscled off the puck, but its not like he can't win a puck battle to save his life.

 

As far as why he is being underanked by CS, that's a mystery to me. I'm by no means a scout, and I will fully admit to few showings on Lysell past YouTube packages, shift-by-shift, and the U18's, but the two obvious things that can kill your ranking are less than stellar stats, and less than desirable stature. But maybe (and likely) they know something we don't.

 

PS. I still adore Eklund. Such a talented kid. He was my early standout, and everytime I watch him I come away impressed.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Sp3nny

[J.I.A.H.N]

9 hours ago, Bertuzzipunch said:

If we move up in the draft to take clarke then there is absolutely no reason to have miller and horvat on the team. We can get a boatload of picks for this year and next. This would absolutely show the players and city we are not trying to get better now but better in the future. We cant be just wasting prime years of miller and horvat on a team that is multiple years away from being competitive.

Well, what about both? What about moving up for Clarke and picking up a player or 2?

 

Let's just say that after the 5th pick, Clarke is still on the table....and just for laughs......Power, Benier, Hughes, Guenther,  and Eklund are gone

 

So, we know, that it is very possible that Detroit will not take a RHD at this point, because they have Seider, it is not to say they would not, but they they have other targets too

 

So, McTavish, Johnson, Wallstedt, Clarke and Edvinsson are left on the table.............

 

Detroit looks at the next 2 picks after theirs...........San Jose, and LA 

 

Now the question is who do the 2 teams take, if Clarke is off the table, and is the incentive that Vancouver gives, worth enough to take one of the players left after SJ and LA pick.

 

I would say a 2022-2nd might be enough to have Detroit and Vancouver swap 1st's............... 

 

That in no way, gets in front of a 2022-1st in a better draft for Reinhart, so I don't quite know what the concern is. 

 

Maybe we go crazy and offer Tampa our 2022 - 1st (unprotected), DiPietro and Woo for Cernak and they take it?

 

Now you have..........short term

 

Hughes.......Cernak

Rathbone....Myers

 

and you have.....long term

 

Hughes........Cernak

Rathbone.....Clarke

 

So, like I said, you do not necessarily have to not have one to get the other..................

[Wolfgang Durst]

23 minutes ago, Sp3nny said:

I guess what I said was very basic, but at the heart of it, I meant what you said in your second paragraph. Yes they are the same size, but if Eklund is doing extremely well at that size, you aren't going to list his size as a problem, as he demonstrates that it doesn't hold him back. If Lysell is struggling at his size, and you can't pin it on his skills or his motor/compete, what are you left with to explain his struggle? The glaringly obvious and easy thing to pin it on is his size, which I personally don't agree with, as he doesn't exactly play small. Yes, he has his struggles getting muscled off the puck, but its not like he can't win a puck battle to save his life.

 

As far as why he is being underanked by CS, that's a mystery to me. I'm by no means a scout, and I will fully admit to few showings on Lysell past YouTube packages, shift-by-shift, and the U18's, but the two obvious things that can kill your ranking are less than stellar stats, and less than desirable stature. But maybe (and likely) they know something we don't.

 

PS. I still adore Eklund. Such a talented kid. He was my early standout, and everytime I watch him I come away impressed.

couple of things to explain why Lysell's output / play is behind Eklund's:

 

1. Eklund has one of the highest Hockey IQ in this year's draft class, a much higher Hockey IQ than Lysell

2. Have read some scouting reports and multiple times the issue inconsistency was mentioned in connection with Lysell

3. Heard about off-ice issues Lysell has had

4. Comparison Lysell / Eklund is partly unfair because Eklund played 40 SHL games vs. Lysell 26 games, of course Eklund has put more points in 40 games than Lysell in 26

 

 

[Wolfgang Durst]

20 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

Well, what about both? What about moving up for Clarke and picking up a player or 2?

 

Let's just say that after the 5th pick, Clarke is still on the table....and just for laughs......Power, Benier, Hughes, Guenther,  and Eklund are gone

 

So, we know, that it is very possible that Detroit will not take a RHD at this point, because they have Seider, it is not to say they would not, but they they have other targets too

 

So, McTavish, Johnson, Wallstedt, Clarke and Edvinsson are left on the table.............

 

Detroit looks at the next 2 picks after theirs...........San Jose, and LA 

 

Now the question is who do the 2 teams take, if Clarke is off the table, and is the incentive that Vancouver gives, worth enough to take one of the players left after SJ and LA pick.

 

I would say a 2022-2nd might be enough to have Detroit and Vancouver swap 1st's............... 

 

That in no way, gets in front of a 2022-1st in a better draft for Reinhart, so I don't quite know what the concern is. 

 

Maybe we go crazy and offer Tampa our 2022 - 1st (unprotected), DiPietro and Woo for Cernak and they take it?

 

Now you have..........short term

 

Hughes.......Cernak

Rathbone....Myers

 

and you have.....long term

 

Hughes........Cernak

Rathbone.....Clarke

 

So, like I said, you do not necessarily have to not have one to get the other..................

there are rumors that Buffalo Sabres might get another top 10 pick - most likely in a Jack Eichel trade or Sam Reinhart trade-.

 

- Sam Reinhart to Columbus for their 5oa is in the rumor mill.

- Jack Eichel  to Anaheim for their 3oa ?

- Sam Reinhart to LA for their 8 oa?

 

I expect movement in the draft order within the top 10 in this years draft either ahead of the draft or at draft day.

[JustABandwagoner]

1 hour ago, janisahockeynut said:

1. Power and Benier

2. Hughes, Guenther, Clarke

3. Edvinsson, Eklund, Johnson

4. McTavish, Wallstedt

I almost fully agree with u EXCEPT I think Wallestedt should be in group 2 and I think the only reason he isn't is because hes a goalie  and Eklund should be in group 2 

Edited June 21, 2021 by DontMessMe

[J.I.A.H.N]

25 minutes ago, DontMessMe said:

I almost fully agree with u EXCEPT I think Wallestedt should be in group 2 and I think the only reason he isn't is because hes a goalie  and Eklund should be in group 2 

I think you are right for the most part, but I was just going off my head and the last report I read.

That is not the point though, as I was only illustrating how I rank players

Obviously, you are a better GM than me (Joke)

The point was I use groups instead of players....with exceptions of course

Sometimes I use individual rankings....when it merits it

But again, each GM will have a general list which is different